Family farm disputes and claims to enforce a promise to gift land.
There has been an increase in the number of family farm disputes that have gone to court in recent years, giving much needed clarity on how these cases will be resolved by judges and, often of most importance for clients, how the claims will be valued.
So, what do we mean by family farming disputes? While this will also cover disputes between farming families as to how to manage, and bring to an end, their farming businesses – which we also specialise in dealing with – in this particular context we are specifically talking about claims to enforce promises made for someone to benefit from a farming business or farming land that have been reneged on. The legal term for these cases is “proprietary estoppel”, and the court has the power to force the promisor (or their estate) to honour the promise that was made.
We commonly see cases such as this arise where promises have been made for a family member or friend to inherit a farm (or part of it) and in exchange they spend many years working for little to no money on the farm, as well as investing their own money into the business in reliance on that promise. If the four elements of a proprietary estoppel claim can be successfully established, then a judge can force the promisor to uphold their promise.
So what are the four key legal elements of a proprietary estoppel claim?
1. that an assurance or representation (promise) has been made;
2. that someone has relied on that assurance or representation;
3. that they have suffered detriment as a result; and
4. it would be ‘unconscionable’ for that assurance or representation to be reneged upon.
These claims will often arise after someone has died because the nature of the promise is often that the claimant will receive the promised farm or land upon the promisor’s death. It is only after the death that they realise they have failed to follow through on the promise in their Will, or via the intestacy rules.
However, these claims are also sometimes pursued during the promisor’s lifetime if it becomes obvious to the promisee that the promisor intends to renege – for example if the promisee has been told to leave the farm, or if attempts are made to sell land which was always intended to be gifted to the promisee. Our specialist trust dispute solicitors are experienced in both types of proprietary estoppel claim.
We are sometimes asked why these claims dealt with by trust dispute lawyers, and not property solicitors? It is because this is a very specialist area of law which requires detailed knowledge of trusts law to establish that the estoppel (enforceable promise) arises, before steps can be taken by property lawyers to do the transactional work to change the ownership of the land at the Land Registry. So the work involved in obtaining a declaration from the court that a claimant has ownership (otherwise referred to as a “beneficial interest”) in land is dealt with by our specialist trust dispute solicitors.
These claims also often cross over with claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) and you can read more about our specialist partner Hayley Bundey’s success at trial in a recent TOLATA case here.
The importance of instructing a specialist solicitor in this field cannot be overstated given the complexity of the law and the range of outcomes which can be achieved.
We offer a range of funding options, including No Win, No Fee, and provide a free case assessment service.
